Electrical stimulation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is analogous to pacing of the human heart. Organs of the GI tract have their own natural pacemakers, and the electrical signals they generate can be altered by externally delivering certain types of electric currents via intraluminal or serosal electrodes to certain areas of the GI tract. Abnormalities in gastric slow waves lead to gastric motor disorders and have been frequently observed in patients with functional disorders of the gut, such as gastroparesis, functional dyspepsia, anorexia and etc. Therefore, electrical stimulation of GI organs is a valuable alternative to medication and surgical approaches in the treatment of GI dysfunctions.
Obesity is a complex, multifactorial and chronic condition characterized by excess body fat. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy expenditure and caloric intake. Although the causes of this imbalance are not completely understood, genetic and/or acquired physiologic events and environmental factors are important. The adverse health effects of obesity, and more particularly morbid obesity, have become well-known in recent years. Such adverse health effects include, but are not limited to, cardio-vascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and sleep apnea. Generally, as a patient's body mass index rises, the likelihood of suffering the adverse health effects of obesity also rises.
Often, surgery has been the only therapy that ensures real results in patients who have exceeded BMI values close to, or in excess of, 40 kg/m2. Modern surgical procedures generally entail either (1) the reduction of gastric compliance, with the aim of limiting the subject's ability to ingest food, or (2) the reduction of the food absorption surface by shortening or bypassing part of the digestive canal. In some case, both aims are sought through the same surgical procedure. The risk and invasiveness factors of currently available surgeries are often too great for a patient to accept to undergo surgical treatment for treatment of obesity. Accordingly, there is a need for less invasive, yet effective treatment procedures for the morbidly obese. Also, since the current surgical procedures are currently indicated only for those patients having a BMI of 40 or greater, or 35 or greater, when co-morbidities are present, it would be desirable to provide a less invasive procedure that would be available for slightly less obese patients, e.g., patients having a BMI of 30 to 35 who are not indicated for the currently available surgical procedures.
A need continues to exist for additional feasible and suitable means to treat obesity. Likewise, a need continues to exist for additional feasible and suitable means to treat other gastrointestinal tract disorders.